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ineffable-endearments · 4 months

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I was rethinking the bookshop meta I wrote a while ago and realized I was not thinking big enough.

The bookshop has always been Aziraphale's version of Crowley's plants (his trauma reenactment), but also, absolutely everything Aziraphale does in Season 2 is a re-creation of Heaven's role. Crowley's behavior also encompasses everything, not just his plants.

I've seen it suggested that centering Aziraphale and Crowley's trauma histories is reducing their characters to behaving like just reactive victims instead of survivors with agency. Or worse, it's "excusing bad behavior." I don't agree with either of these, because I feel that part of Good Omens is about how large, powerful systems affect individuals, and so the context of every character's decisions matters a lot to the overall themes of the story. Everyone starts out working within a system they believe to reflect reality and then has to learn how to break free of it. You cannot really illustrate that without having the characters start out being genuinely trapped with different ways of coping with their reality.

This is an attempt at a pretty big-picture meta. Although it isn't a plot prediction, it's how I think some of the series' themes are going to progress. It starts out perhaps a little grim, but in the long run, it's how Aziraphale's character growth and relationship with Crowley can simultaneously be massive for them as individuals, a crucial part of the overarching narrative message of the series, and symbolic of a change in all of Heaven and Hell, all while allowing the themes to continue to prioritize human free will.

In short, it's about Aziraphale's problems, but it's also meant to be an Aziraphale love post.

All of the below exists in tandem with Good Omens as a comedy of errors. Just because there are heavy ideas does not mean they will not also be funny. Look back on how much of Season 2 seemed silly until we started to pick it apart! One of the amazing things about Good Omens is how it manages to do both silly and serious at once! (I feel like that's maybe a little Terry Pratchett DNA showing through. "Laughter can get through the keyhole while seriousness is still hammering on the door," as Terry himself said.)

Aziraphale has really embraced his connection to Crowley in Season 2, and he has also become considerably more assertive toward Heaven and Hell. These are both major growth points compared to the beginning of Season 1.

However, again, we have the concept of growing pains...Aziraphale is starting to re-create Heaven's role in his relationship with Crowley and humanity. It's really obvious with the Gabriel argument and the I Was Wrong Dance, but I think we see it all over the place: he seems to feel any serious dissent is a betrayal. He also seems to assume there's a dominance hierarchy and he, of course, is on top. Now that he's decided to take control of his own future, then surely that does mean he's the one in control, right?

With all that said, he still seems to have trouble being direct about the feelings that make him most vulnerable. He manipulates people and engineers situations in which he can try to get his emotional needs met rather than saying things outright (case in point: the Ball).

Like I pointed out in the bookshop meta: subconsciously, he's playing the role of God, modified with what God would be if She were everything he wants Her to be. He's generous, almost infinitely sweet, always does what's best for people...or, at least, what he believes is best for people. During the Ball, Aziraphale influences the people around him to be comfortable and happy even when they're not supposed to be, and he limits their ability to talk about things he thinks are too rude or improper for happy, formal occasions.

Doesn't this pattern sort of make sense for an angel who's just discovering free will? Like, at the end of Season 1, he made an enormous choice to stand against Heaven and realized he could survive it. Now he's gone a bit overboard with exerting his own will. Unfortunately, while he's learned to question upper management, he's still operating on a fundamental framework of the universe where there have to be two sides and there has to be a hierarchy. Also, since Aziraphale is on the Good side, he of course has to gear his desires into what's Good rather than just what he wants, so he sometimes thinks he's doing things for others when really he's doing things for himself. (For example, matchmaking Maggie and Nina started out as something he wanted to use to lie to Heaven, but by the time he was commenting "Maggie and Nina are counting on me," he seemed sincere, like he had genuinely convinced himself this was for them and not for himself.)

Aziraphale knows Heaven interferes in human affairs, ostensibly on God's behalf. He thinks She should be intervening in ways that are beneficial. What I believe the narrative wants him to learn is that God and Heaven shouldn't be manipulating people at all, not even for Good, and in fact there is no real meaningful hierarchy.

Anyway, a top-down, totally unquestioned hierarchy is the primary social relationship Aziraphale has known, and it's certainly been the dominant one for most of his existence: you're either the boss or the underling, and if someone seriously questions you, they don't have faith in you - they don't respect you.

No, his relationship with Crowley has not always been like that, but they've been creating their relationship from whole cloth, so how would he know it shouldn't become that way, now that it's "real" and out in the open?

No, human relationships aren't like that, but Aziraphale clearly does not see himself or Crowley as human. As the relationship approached something that seemed like it must be "legitimate," Aziraphale would naturally look for a framework to fit it to. And again, the only one he has is the shape of "intimacy," or what passes for it, in Heaven. What has "trust" always meant in all his "legitimate" relationships? It has always meant unquestioning obedience, of course. What have the warm fuzzies felt like in Heaven? Well, praise from the angels above him is nice, so that must be it, right?

Aziraphale even describes being in love as "what humans do," separating out that relationship style. Someday, I think he'll realize he favors the shape of love on Earth, something that's more inherently equal, more give-and-take. Look at how he idealizes it from afar at the Ball. But I think that, like Crowley before Nina pointed it out, Aziraphale maybe hasn't 100% grokked that it can and in fact should work that way for him and Crowley, too. Just like people can desperately want to dance without knowing how to dance, or can desperately want to speak a language without knowing the language, Aziraphale does not instinctively know how to have the kind of relationship where he can be truly vulnerable and handle Crowley's vulnerability as well.

Aziraphale is downright obsessed with French, known as the "language of love." He's trying to learn it the Earthly way. He's not very good at it, but he wants to be.

This pattern is still present during the Final Fifteen even if we assume Aziraphale is asking Crowley to become an angel again out of fear (and I find it very hard to believe that fear doesn't factor in at all). He's still building his interactions off of that Heaven-like framework: he asks Crowley to trust him blindly, he tries to assume a leadership role with a plan Crowley never agreed to and couldn't follow anyway, and he tries very hard not to leave room for an ounce of doubt. He also suggests making Crowley his second-in-command and obviously does not register that this could possibly be offensive. Again, I think this is because for Aziraphale, there has always been a hierarchy in Heaven, it's started to transfer to his relationship with Crowley, and breaking out of that assumption about relationships is going to take more processing than a single argument can do.

As I mentioned in another post, I don't believe Aziraphale had a real choice about whether he accepted the Supreme Archangel position. I think he could sense that he was not getting out of it and chose to look on the bright side, to see it as an opportunity. And instead of looking realistically at how that would feel to Crowley, he tried to sweep Crowley up to Heaven with him using toxic positivity, appeals to morality, and appeals to their relationship itself. Again, mimicking what Heaven has done to him.

To me, "they're not talking" is a big clue that Aziraphale's approach with Crowley is going to be the mistake the narrative really wants him to face. "Not talking" has, thus far, been presented as the central conflict of Season 3! After losing the structure and feedback Heaven gave him, Aziraphale started creating Heaven-like patterns in his relationship with Crowley, and breaking out of those patterns is what he needs to do. Discovering first-hand that Heaven's entire modus operandi is bad no matter who's in charge is how he can do it.

Look, either you're sympathetic to Aziraphale's control issues or you're not. Personally, I am. He's trying so, so hard to be good. I think trying to figure yourself out (which Aziraphale is clearly doing) is hard enough, and when you start balancing what you want for yourself, what you think are your responsibilities, and what other people are actively asking of you, you're bound to fall into the patterns that have been enforced for your whole life or for millions of years, whichever came first.

It is very easy to assume that people should Just Be Better, but it's not actually that simple to be a thinking, feeling person. My anxiety tends to move in a very inward direction and Aziraphale's moves outward. But I'd imagine the desperation and exhaustion are the same.

Unlike Nina, Aziraphale became a rebound mess. I don't think it occurred to either him or to Crowley that there could be any soul-searching, anything but carrying on with the new normal after their stalemate with Heaven and Hell.

Now, instead of getting rejected by Heaven and surviving it, Aziraphale needs to be the one to reject Heaven. It needs to be a choice. And that choice is going to come from realizing that Heaven isn't just poorly managed but also represents a bad framework for all relationships.

How could this happen? Good question. We're obviously not supposed to know yet, although I think picking at existing themes within the narrative could possibly give us hints.

It's possible Aziraphale's character development trajectory will be akin to Adam Young's in Season 1. Please see this stellar post by eidetictelekinetic for more thoughts about it, but basically, in Season 1, Adam saw that the world was not what he wanted it to be and decided his vision was better; as he ascended to power, he took complete control over all his friends and then soon realized that's not what he wants because there's no point in trying to have relationships with people who can't choose you. It's that realization that leads Adam to conclude he doesn't want to take over the world and to reject the role he's expected to play as the Antichrist. Maybe Aziraphale's trip to Heaven is an attempt at a control move during which he'll realize he's defeating his own point.

Aziraphale clearly wants to be chosen. From the very beginning, he's wanted to be special and cared for - just like Crowley has.

Incidentally, I think Aziraphale and Crowley are going to represent pieces of the bigger picture here, and this - first imitating and then rejecting Heaven's relationship style - can both symbolize Heaven's transformation and directly start it (probably in an amusing, somewhat indirect way, like when he handed off the flaming sword to Adam).

If I'm right - which I may very well not be - I think this would all be so, SO cool. Like, "An angel who is subconsciously trying to be a better God" is a concept with so much potential for both tender kindness and incredible darkness. Add to that the comedy-of-errors aspect of "...but even deeper down, he'd much rather just be super gay on Earth" and you have, in my opinion, a perfect character.

I think this could work for Crowley as well. It's obvious that in the Good Omens universe, at least so far, Hell is all about detesting humans and punishing them; Satan seems to genuinely hate humans (unlike in some of NG's other works). Our perspective on this could change, but it potentially puts Crowley in a complementary position to Aziraphale, as a demon who is trying to be "better" than Satan. But this isn't about being "morally better." It's about things having a point. Crowley's exploits usually have a point: they test people. And you can pass his tests! He sincerely likes making trouble, but Crowley doesn't live to punish.

But, once again, the above paragraph would describe a transient phase for this infinitely charming character. Because, again, I think the point will be that in the end, Crowley's deeper-down desire, moreso than testing Creation, is watching it grow with a glass of wine in hand.

#go3 speculation

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dreamywriter143 · 11 months

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Nihona

Title: Nihona (Endearing/Sweet)

Status: Prologue (0/3)

Parings: Neteyam x Reader (Step SiblingReader), Sully’s x Reader

Genre/Warnings: ANGST, Mentions of death, Pregnancy, Romance, Fluff, Jealously, Forbidden Love Troupe, Step-Siblings, suggestive content!!, NSFW/MDNI (later on? Maybe not, depending on the response) All characters are AGED-UP.

Summary: Miréya and Neytiri have been best friends since birth. Miréya was always by her side, comforting her when she lost her sister and when the sky people attacked. Neytiri loved her as if she was her own sister. Loosing her was unbearable for her and Jake. What will happen when they take in what is left off her? Take care of her daughter who is completely alone in this world? How will she adapt to her new family?

Word Count: 2.4k

**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ** A/N: This is a TEST! I was originally going to scrap this entire idea but I wanna see if you guys would like this. Please comment if you’d like me to continue ! And please read the Author’s note at the end for further context.

__________________________________________

“Neytiri-“ Miréya whispers, her voice cracking.

She reaches out her shaky hand feeling for Neytiri. Her eyes squinting shut in pain as another whimper escapes her lips. Neytiri leans closer to her, her eyes brimming with tears watching her friend suffer.

Neytiri held her hand tightly within her gasp as the female Na’vi groans in pain. A thick layer of sweat covering her entire form as Mo’at sat in between her legs which were propped up for better access. Mo’at frowns deeply before turning to another female Na’vi in the tent.

“Get me more water!” She orders, her voice thick with emotion. Something she tried to hold down as she was Tsahik, she couldn’t show emotion. Even if she knew the terrible outcome the current situation would befall.

“I’m here, I’m here sister” Neytiri whispers soothingly, wiping her tears as Miréya forces her eyes open. Her eyes were droopy with fatigue as sweat ran down her face, desperate gasps escaping her as she struggles to breathe.

“You’re going to have to push, are you ready?” Mo’at says from her spot, placing cloth under the girl. Miréya nods shakily, turning to Neytiri fully.

“Neytiri-“ she calls again, her hand gripping her tightly,

“-if I don’t make it-“

“No! No sister, don’t say such things!” Neytiri begs unable to hold in her own sobs. Maybe it was due to the fact Neytiri knew the pain her friend was going through as a mother herself. Or was it the realization when Mo’at gave her a solemn look of defeat mid way through the birth. But she wouldn’t let Ewya take away her dear friend, she couldn’t allow that.

“Sister, my dear sister. Please listen to me” Miréya gasps, clenching her teeth as a surge of pain stings through her body. A paralyzingly pain running through her and rendering her immobile.

“P-please take care of her. Take care of my pr’rnen” (Baby) Miréya begs, fat tears sliding down her cheeks. Neytiri shakes her head in denial.

“No! You must be strong, you must be strong for your baby” she encourages her voice cracking in pain. Miréya manages to smile softly at her dear friend, someone she confided with when she felt lonely. Someone who held her as she mourned her mates death many moons ago. The very same friend who couldn’t be happier when she heard of her pregnancy. Neytiri was the first person Miréya relayed the news too.

“I-I can’t….he’s calling me” Miréya whispers, smiling as a certain someone voice catch her ears. A voice she had missed so much.

“W-ho?”

“Ro’até…..Ro’até is calling me. It’s my time” Miréya says softly, her eyes getting heavier. The numbness from the tips of her toes travelling upwards.

“Promise me-“ She gasps, using what little strength in her to lean towards her best friend.

“Promise me you’ll take care of her. Promise me” she begs. Her voice full of raw emotion, Neytiri closes her eyes, her locks falling past her shoulder as her body shakes.

“Yes, I swear I’ll protect her with my life”

~~~~~~~

Jake smiles to himself as Neteyam cooes in his arms, reaching up to grab his much larger finger. Jake chuckles to himself watching in awe how small his son was, even though it’s been a couple of months already.

His ears twitch in alert when he hears his mates familiar steps near their family tent. Carefully getting up while still holding Neteyam, Jake faces the door as Neytiri walks in her shoulders slumped.

Within a flash Jake is by her side, his eyes filled with concern as he takes in her disbelieved appearance. Tears stained her cheeks as fresh ones well once again. Her hair was in disarray, sweat dripping down her forehead as she huffs out.

“Ma’Jake” she whispers, as if assuring herself he was there with her. She looked at her mate with a broken expression causing Jake to frown. Carefully tucking Neteyam under one arm he reaches out for her pulling her in.

“Shhh my love. What wrong? What happened?” He asked softly, his tone held that ofconcern. He had bid Neytiri off earlier today with a smile when she had let him know that Miréya, their friend, had gone into labour.

“She…….. Miréya is with Ewya Ma’Jake…” Neytiri whimpers out fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Jakes eyes go wide, his throat closing in with sadness as he tries to confirm what his mate had told him. He pulls Neytiri down to sit on the mat as she was visibly shaking.

Miréya was the only other Na’vi who had accepted Jake when he had come to their clan. She convinced Neytiri that Jake could become one with the clan. Immediately became close with the friendly Na’vi and her mate. Though Ro’até was a man of few words, he respected Jake when no other male had at the time. Jake felt great loss when he couldn’t protect him. And now, he lost Miréya.

“Wh-at…what do you mean” Jake asks, his voice cracking under his own despair. He focused on Neytiri, pushing down his own sadness. He felt himself slowly slip into his thoughts, but he forced himself to stay alert. He had to, for Neytiri’s sake.

“She was too weak. She knew this pregnancy would be difficult but she still chose to keep the baby….she…” Neytiri whispers, glancing down at the small bundle wrapped in her arms.

Jakes eyes widen, forgetting the tears that slide down his cheeks. He stares at the carefully wrapped bundle that seemed to stir in Neytiri’s carful grasp. He was so focused on Neytiri he didn’t seem to register that she was holding a baby.

“She has no one Ma’Jake…I’m….we’re all she has left” Neytiri croaks, she gently removes the wrapping revealing a beautiful baby girl. Her e/c eyes shining brightly under the dimly lit tent. Her stripes and freckling glowing in the dark. She babbles quietly straining to open her eyes.

“We’ll take her” Jake responds without missing a beat. He stares at the girl in awe, she was significantly tinier and smaller than the boy in his arms, looking that much more delicate. Neytiri nods, her eyes locked on the girl in her arms. She smiles softly while wiping a tear.

“I want to name her Y/n…. Miréya would have liked that” Neytiri says, glancing at her mate who smiles warmly despite his own tears.

“What a beautiful name….Y/n, our baby girl” Jake agrees proudly, cuddling up next to his mourning mate. The sudden movement jolts the baby fully awake as she lets out a squeal of surprise followed by a cry.

“Oh, shhh. Shhh my dear” Neytiri coos trying to calm down the startled baby in her arms. At the sounds of her cries Neteyam peers over at her in question, his lower lip jutted out in a pout.

Jake notices his sons interest deciding to scoot closer to the baby. He smiles seeing how Neteyam reaches his chubby hand out to her.

“This is your sister, Y/n” Jake says softy wiping away the tears.

Neteyam reaches to grasp the baby’s hand, wrapping his chubby fingers around her tiny ones. The moment he grabbed on her cries immediately calm down. It was as if the mere touch caused her to relax.

Neytiri and Jake smiles amongst themselves at the sight. Neytiri leans down to place a soft kiss on her forehead as well as her son, who didn’t let go of Y/n’s hand.

“Protect your sister Neteyam, she is very special to us”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~13 Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And protect her he did.

Neteyam and Y/n were stuck like glue. Always a few steps behind one another, even after Kiri got adopted into the family followed by Lo’ak and Tuk. They never seem to far away from one another.

Neteyam always watched out from her, carefully taking care of her as if she were made of glass. In a way, she was. To him. He treated her with nothing but love. Neteyam always admired his baby sister, his precious sister he couldn’t help but love with all his heart.

He helped her with wielding her first bow, helping her with her very first kill she was ecstatic about. He helped her train hard in preparation to tame an Ikran. And celebrated with a flight over the hallelujah mountains when she finally tamed her green Ikran she named in hoi out of her mother previous Ikran. Seze.

Neteyam never seemed to get tired of her either. When she would get into mischief with Lo’ak and Spider, Neteyam always took the blame. He would face his fathers wrath all over again so he wouldn’t have to see his baby sister upset.

He also kept teasing Na’vi boys away, far away. He was her personal bodyguard. He didn’t know what motivated him, but he always made sure no one attempted anything with her. She barley had any guy friends due to this. Not that she complained, she was satisfied with her older brother that meant the world to her.

As the children grew so did their bodies and their thoughts. Touches and kisses that were nothing but innocent seem to morph into something else. Something passionate. At least to Neteyam.

The first time Neteyam felt jealousy was when he saw a guy make a pass at Y/n. In front of him. Due to his baby sisters innocence she didn’t understand the vulgar meaning behind what the boy had said, but Neteyam did. He had the boy on the ground before he could finish his sentence, his feet pressing his face into the soil beneath him.

Even whilst getting lectured by Jake and Neytiri regarding his sudden aggressive behaviour Neteyam couldn’t help but replay the event over and over in his mind. He felt jealousy, jealousy that stung him deep. But he also felt his heart clench with a feeling he didn’t know. A feeling he couldn’t quite decipher.

The next couple of years Neteyam finally understood what he felt as Y/n grew to be a beautiful Na’vi. His beautiful baby sister he couldn’t help but love, love in a way he knew was forbidden.

Neteyam tried to distance himself at first but the pain he felt while avoiding her was unimaginable. It was when he caught Y/n sobbing hysterically at their sudden distance he realized how tough life would be. He couldn’t stay away from her, but he couldn’t change his feelings either. He would have to be her brother, all while loving her in a way that seemed to cause heartbreak.

“What’s wrong? You’re unusually quiet today” Neteyam claims as he scoots closer to Y/n. Their feet dangled below them as they sat perched on a branch high above the ground.

The small and adorable pout that Y/n tried to hide did not go unnoticed by Neteyam. Then again, nothing ever did. He was always watching her, always keeping her in a close distance to make sure she was ok. Make sure she was safe.

“I overheard some girls today” she sighs out knowing very well she couldn’t lie to her brother even if she wanted to. Neteyam hums in response urging her to continue.

“They were talking about…kisses. A lot of them-most of them have already had their first kiss!” Y/n blurts out throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. Neteyam’s eyes grow wide, his body stiffens at her words.

“And?” He asks after clearing his throat harshly. He forced himself to keep his eyes trained on her eyes, avoiding the idea of glancing down at her pillowy lips.

“This is embarrassing….I haven’t had my first kiss…I’m starting to feel left out!” Y/n admits, blowing a practise of hair that was loose out of her braid.

Neteyam coughs at her words. It was true he hasn’t had his first kiss either, but there was a reason for that. He was so in love with his own sister he couldn’t find it in his heart to move on. Let out make a move on some Na’vi he would never grow feelings for.

“Do you….want a kiss?” He asks, carefully wording his thoughts.

“Yes-of course!” Y/n quickly responds, turning to face her brother. Her ears twitch in excitement at the thought.

Neteyam feels his heart race against his chest, his mouth going dry as he utters the words his heart wanted to scream.

“Do you want to k-kiss me?” He asks quietly. Y/n’s eyes growing wide at his words.

“-as a practice!!” He quickly adds as Y/n furrows her eyes in thought. It takes her a moment but she shyly nods. Her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Neteyam gulps loudly as he pulls her closer by grabbing her waist. It was slim and seem to fit perfectly around his arms, something that sent a shiver down his spine.

Neteyam felt guilt eat him alive. Knowing very well every fiber in his body wanted to kiss Y/n, for his own pleasure. Because he desperately wanted to feel her pressed against him. He desperately wanted her lips against his. He felt terrible for using this moment to his advantage in a way, but all that reasoning muffle out as he gazes down at her lips.

“Are you sure?” Neteyam asks one more time, wishing she would agree. Y/n nods back, pushing herself closer to him.

Neteyam gently reaches up cradling her neck with his large warm hand. He leans down watching how she closes her eyes in anticipation. Feeling her feathery breath tickle against him is the last straw as he places his lips over hers.

A shock of electricity runs through both of them at first contact. Their lips mold together heatedly as if they had kissed many times before. Neteyam pulls deeper into the kiss breathing through his nose, refusing to pull away. Now that he tasted her he couldn’t get enough. She tasted sweet, addicting. He didn’t know how he refrained from kissing her before.

Y/n pulls away gasping for air, her eyes blown wide. Neteyam desperately tried catching his breath knowing very well he looked just as flush at her.

“W-woah” Y/n whispers as the reality starts to sets in.

She kissed Neteyam. Her older brother….

And she loved it.

__________________________________________

A/N: I just wanted see if you guys would actually be interested in this story. In no way is Reader related to Neteyam by blood but this is a step-sibling kinda situation. If I get positive reviews back I’ll continue with the 3 chapters I had planned (which will include a NSFW scene), if not I’ll delete it! I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable while reading this. So please let me know what you think! Thank you guys☺️☺️❤️

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jewishvitya · 1 year

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Rowling had nothing to do with Legacy and I think most people forget that. She wasn't even consulted. WB bought the license and the devs did whatever they wanted. "Sirona" is a beautiful, feminine Celtic name associated with healing, and "Ryan" is an extremely common Irish surname. I feel like people are looking for reasons to be offended, especially when it comes to trans characters and antisemitism. The goblins are not and have never been Jewish stereotypes. They're a fictional race. They're based on Tolkien's goblins and old English folklore dating back to the 1400's, where they have always been depicted and small, ugly, and greedy. Rowling herself was shocked by the antisemitism rumors and staunchly stated they weren't true. Just like the rumors saying lycanthopy is a metaphor for AIDS. Just... who thinks of this stuff?

What's really sad is people have argued that Sirona was never meant to be trans, but a male character that the devs rendered to look "more feminine" at the last minute. People have made fun of her voice and said it's "too masculine", so obviously WB just hired a man to voice her and changed her gender later. But that's not true! Her VA is actually a trans woman and the backlash against the character must be devastating to the VA.

Okay, so, I don't think you're here in good faith. You're here to be dismissive. But I'll reply anyway, just in case I'm wrong.

One thing at a time.

I'll start with the one point you made that I agree with: the VA. She doesn't deserve to have her voice scrutinized and criticized. That's horrible, no one deserves that. I did see - and share - the misinformation that Sirona Ryan was voiced by a man, and I regret that. I edited it out of my post as soon as I knew, but this is tumblr and unedited versions do go around. I hope more people will see that corrected, and leave the VA's voice alone.

Now for the mess you threw at me.

Hogwarts Legacy is related to Rowling by virtue of existing within the world she created. It's still her goblins, since she gave her permission to create this, and she let it be added to the canon.

Rowling's world is the context.

I don't care that she wasn't consulted about the details, that just means the other creators are bigots too. When you build within a world that has such large issues, where so much time and effort was devoted to highlighting and criticizing those issues, and you create a story that continues all the problems from the original canon and adds to them - that's a choice that I have a right to criticize. They had the benefit of being a google search away from knowing how to be respectful about all of this, and they did the opposite.

Sirona Ryan IS a beautiful real name, that's not the issue. I already wrote this post where I tried to explain the reaction, but I accept that maybe my feelings about this name come from cultural ignorance. If that's the case, I apologize, and I'd love to be corrected.

My real issue with the game is the antisemitism.

You say "folklore dating back to the 1400's" as if that's far too old to be influenced by antisemitism. Fun fact: antisemitism is older than goblins. Antisemitism is literally millennia old. At least as old as Christianity, which is the root of many antisemitic ideas. It's older than many European mythological creatures, and it infuses a lot of European folklore and mythology, down to the depictions of witches with their pointy hats. Stories about goblins being used as a way to dehumanize Jewish people is not new. And using a fictional race of non-humans as stand-ins for real groups of marginalized people - either intentionally or not - is a very common practice in storytelling. Most fantasy races have those roots to them. But even then, where, in the original lore of the goblins, did they control the banks?

It doesn't matter if Rowling was shocked by the claims of antisemitism and it doesn't matter if she denied them. The reality of her story is that she created an antisemitic depiction. I can believe that it wasn't her intention, but that doesn't mean it's not what she did.

You don't get to look at an antagonistic group that embodies EVERY SINGLE TRAIT THAT WAS ASSIGNED TO MY PEOPLE TO DEMONIZE US and tell me that's not antisemitic.

I already made this list, but let's do it again. All antisemitic traits that can be found in Rowling's goblins. I'll break it down to the original book canon, the movies, and the game.

Books - Rowling's actual canon:

Short, with clever swarthy faces, sallow skin and pointed beards

A guttural language

Ruthless and known for their greed

Pursue someone who owes them money with violent threats

Have cultural differences that make them impossible to trust

Harmed by dark wizard but still suspected to support them

Only worth associating with for their metalworking and control of the economy

She placed a goblin's rebellion in 1612 - the same year as the events that led to the Fettmilch uprising, which resulted in pogroms and Jewish deaths. Rowling stated that wars and political unrest parallel between the muggle world and the wizarding world as the two societies influence each other

The most prominent named goblin character, Griphook, betrays Harry. Harry is a Christ allegory - literally sacrifices himself to save everyone, and then comes back to life

Movies:

Hooked noses - the best known antisemitic feature

A six pointed star in the building they chose for the bank - I don't believe this was intentional, but it's an unfortunate choice and they could have covered it

Here end the parts I blame on Rowling directly. And the game was built on these foundations.

Game:

A historical time frame of pogroms, where our people were murdered in large massacres that often had support from authorities

Explicit ties between the goblins and the dark wizards

Aiming to undermine wizard society - the goal assigned to us in every antisemitic conspiracy theory

Kidnapping of children for their magic - literally just look up blood libel

A character says the goblins can't appreciate art. It’s absurd to say considering the quality and coveted status of goblin-made artifacts. In the real world, this is a claim that was made against Jews by the Nazis (and it targets other groups hated by white supremacists as well)

A ram’s horn artifact that strongly resembles a silver plated Shofar - a Jewish ritual item. Said horn is from 1612, from the same rebellion mentioned above. According to the item’s description, it was blown to rally the goblins and to annoy witches and wizards. It was stuffed with gorgonzola to mute it, a specifically non-kosher cheese (most kinds of cheese are kosher). It's so disrespectful I still don't have the words to fully convey it

Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, those traits became associated with Jewish people as a group through hateful propaganda. Putting all of them on a non-human race isn't better. It just adds to the dehumanization of it. It's not just Rowling's fault. That's shared by every single person who had a hand in the creation of this story. For the issues in the game, I blame the people named here more. I see no reason to extend grace to far-right bigots.

But to focus on Rowling. You brought up lycanthropy. You seem to think we made up the idea that it's a metaphor for HIV. We didn't. She said that. In the ebook Short Stories From Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship, and Dangerous Hobbies - she said that. She said it before that, on Pottermore.

Lupin's condition of lycanthropy (being a werewolf) was a metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS. [...] The wizarding community is as prone to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin gave me a chance to examine those attitudes.

This is a quote of her thoughts. It still exists on Lupin's page on her Wizarding World website.

And it's actually a pretty good example of how it's absolutely possible to be awful about depicting a stigmatized minority through a fantasy stand-in.

HIV+ people are stigmatized through no fault of their own. But in her books, it seems reasonable for the wizards to fear werewolves. And she did that, she made prejudice reasonable. We have: Remus Lupin, a named werewolf who is good and kind, and tries to avoid hurting people. Even then, he nearly does cause harm more than once. He turns in front of our heroes and spends a night loose in the forest. He tells the heroes that as a student, he almost bit people while out with his friends. So even while well-intentioned, he's a danger. That means we don't have a single safe HIV+ allegory in her work. The other named werewolf is Fenrir Greyback, who intentionally targets children to turn them young and raise them to hate the society they came from - which is fucking homophobic, whatever she intended, because of the way HIV gets associated with homosexuality. And the rest? A whole community of werewolves who side with the Death Eaters.

Did she mean to make a whole community of marginalized people into wizard Nazis? I DON'T CARE. SHE DID THAT.

I don't care to argue about her intentions while writing the text. I can't read minds. I can read the text she wrote. I can see what was put into the game that was added into her world. I can read about the history of my people and their persecution. I can see how disturbingly similar this game's story is to the propaganda that led to my grandparents suffering through the holocaust and losing their families to it.

If she cared about the antisemitism in her works, she wouldn't just act horrified and say "No, of course I wasn't being hateful to Jews!" - she'd look at whatever she lets people put into her IP, to prevent further harm. I do blame the other writers of the game more than I blame her for that plot, but it's not better that she gave her approval without being consulted. It's her IP, it carries her name, she gets royalties, it's her responsibility.

And at the very least, she doesn't care about antisemitism enough to worry about minimizing harm. I know that, because I know her friends. I know TERFs and Gender Criticals. Rowling saw an anti-trans event with white supremacist speakers, and she chose to criticize the counter-protesters. She went out to eat with Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce, who participated and spoke in events organized by Posie Parker - who explicitly includes far right groups in her events, and shares platforms with white supremacists. Rowling bought merch from Posie Parker. She wrote about Magdalen Berns as a "brave young feminist" - as if she didn't push the antisemitic George Soros conspiracy theory and share Breitbart articles. She praised MATT WALSH. The people she associates with now, read from Mein Kampf in their rallies.

She didn't put the antisemitism in the game, but she's very comfortable with antisemitism. Don't tell me she was horrified by the idea that her goblins could be called antisemitic. She just didn't want the label applied to her. If you willingly associate with Nazis, you're a Nazi. And enough of her friends don't seem to mind that.

I stand by what I said: playing this game, even pirated, is like printing out an antisemitic caricature and hanging it on your wall, saying “well, I didn’t pay the artist, I just like this art.”

#riki babbles #hogwarts legacy #antisemitism #homophobia #JKR doesn't care about Jews #She just likes invoking the holocaust #HP #JKR

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 19 days

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(Submission) Why do people feel so sorry for JGY and NMJ again? I enjoy both of their characters but it’s so plain that they both made their bed (the coffin) and must lie in it.

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Hello there. I think because many prefer to approach works and characters less from an analytical and outward standpoint,and more of a "well this is what I would do if I were in this situation instead". Which then of course leads to where I can sympathize with these men, despite the surrounding context from the story that lessens that sympathy, very much on purpose.

Yes, Jin Guangyao had a very difficult childhood due to the cruelty of classism, yet he still had a mother that loved him and wanted the best for him, and tried within her means. His love of her though did not mean he had to torture older women still living in brothel life and killing them, he did not need to condemn an entire clan to death because they called him the same as Wen Ruohan and use them once again to claim they killed his son out of hate, when it had been his own hand because of his own obsession of appearing saintly kind and untouchable to the masses of gentry he wanted to be part of fully and idolized.

He is not a working class hero that his fans try to say he is. He didn't do a thing to help civilian life within text, that is actually still pointed to be something only the Lans participate in, and Lan Wangji's own students even more so. He wanted to erase everything about his beginnings because he was ashamed and thought lesser of them, he states that he is better than those he came of.

He also manipulated his own friendship with Lan Xichen to start poisoning Nie Mingjue into Qi deviation and on page confirmation of true demonic arts. Whatever prior to his rise to power, is not an excuse for his continued desperate hold for more even after he was on top especially when he very much tried to kill his nephew who he had raised from birth twice on page. And through all of this displays no remorse for these actions other than miming very weak reasons that even a very naive Lan Xichen can see with nothing but terror at this lack of taking claim for one's actions from malice and manipulations.

As for Nie Mingjue, there is another idolatry with the idea of a strict, but kind righteous brother. When he is not even that. His own traditionalism blinds him from the actions of sympathy and he condemns an entire group of people based on hate of people that have already died, while hypocritically he sits in the same room of those that once had it. While he is proud of his own name, he does not allow the surviving Wens even that because of his hate that has no place after the war he won. He is not even kind to his own brother who he doesn't understand and mocks for not wanting to be anything like Nie Mingjue, partially out of yes, love and worry, but also because his own way of life is the only way of life. That is not tolerance and he wouldn't be even if there was some change to the external plot details.

His hate is the reason he is a mindless dumb corpse unlike Song Lan and Wen Ning, who at their core were always kind people that were strong because of their faith in kindness. Nie Mingjue did not believe in kindness but righteous zealotry and when he thought one was not adhering to his form of righteous zealotry, they were unworthy of basic humanity.

He himself has no qualms with calling Jin Guangyao as he is due to being born from a whore as if that's why Jin Guangyao is evil and cruel. He is a hypocrite in his own words as he is offended that Jin Guangyao views himself as better than lesser class individuals, yet is quick to say it's the reason Jin Guangyao is what he is. That is classic classism in verbiage. It also isn't due to the cruelty that Jin Guangyao exhibits that he cares about, it's what he views as a disgrace to any sort of "righteous" tactics that should be employed instead.

Yes, these men are very nuanced and very deeply layered, but nuance does not mean they were well meaning, kind, tolerant in action, especially when the text implies they are like many many politicians that exist in the world, and even get these same long winded metas cooing over them and making up reasons as to why they're men to be admired, loved, and coddled. Ironic really, from a sociological look into the ways of fandom speech and underlying bias from world wide isms that permeate societies.

#submission #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #I hate jin guangyao (｡･ω･｡)#nie mingjue #jin guangyao stans don't try me

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theskysungqueen · 2 months

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to make things brief cause I suck at organizing what I have to say, the live action was definitely Something™.

Cast: 10/10 kinda biased personally but yall can't take this from me

Gordon as Aang and Dallas as Zuko were the standouts imo. Gordon needs some direction on line delivery and the angstier scenes but overall he's very charming and I'm so proud of him for getting so much exposure!

Ian as Sokka was great, I just wish he was allowed to be more...messy? like Sokka pretends to be chill and all that but he's actually dramatic so I hope that gets improved in the next season if there is one

speaking of improvement, Kiawentiio as Katara brought out a softer side to the character but sadly diminished her spark and passion. I like that Katara now actually feels like a younger sister, it makes sense within the context of the story that Sokka and Gran Gran would shelter her after what happened, but as someone said, her anger is so central to her character and I just wish that got shown more. It's more of a script and direction problem tbh, if you look at Kia's interviews she has the sass and feistiness Katara needs

Lizzy as Azula is great, the writing is a bit clunky though so she did the best she could with it. Can't really comment on Mai and Ty Lee yet because they're kinda just there but it's a nice setup

Maria as Suki? perfection show stopping never the same she is a queen and I love the tidbit of Suki backstory which she never really had in the og show. I love her being such a loser around her crush we love to see girlfailures girlfailing. I wish the writers didn't make them KISS though 😭 slowburn ftw

the adults were great

Writing: 6.5/10

There were genuinely good moments and I love the concept of mixing up certain plot points to condense the story

But they just suffered from too much Telling instead of Showing WRITERS PLEASE LISTEN TO THE CRITICISM YOU HAVE TIME TO IMPROVE PLEASE

Omashu, mechanist, and Jet plot mixing as a concept was fine, but it dragged on and my friends and I got bored of it. I like it in theory but if it was going to take THAT long couldn't they have just separated one of those storylines for a different episode?

I appreciate that they tried to develop the water siblings' relationship by making them the stars of the Secret Tunnels, but I would've changed the way they "conquered" the problem (really? badgermoles respond to love? cute in theory but like why). If anyone's watched Barbie: A Fairy Secret there's a part where Barbie and her frenemy accuse each other of why their friendship failed, and it helps them make up and breaks the curse put on them. So that's what I would've done, force them in a life or death situation in which they have to say the unsaid things, maybe hug it out and boom

The way they handled Koh and the Spirit World was a Mess™ but the effects were decent

Zhao meeting horrible ends in every incarnation is so deserved

Yue having more agency was a welcome change AND I LOVE THAT SHE WATERBENDS. Then waterbends even when the moon is gone. It's such a nice visual nod to the fact that she has the moon spirit within her

That said, the show could definitely use more visual storytelling, less weird dialogue. Like it's so strangely common for shows or adaptations these days to exposition dump. Like they did not have to make Yue say that the ocean spirit was angry, literally just show me the dead moon fish and I'll get the idea. Then Iroh says "That's Wrath" that's just redundant now isn't it

I like that they saved Katara bringing Aang out of the Avatar State until last even if it could've been done better

HOW DARE THEY MAKE ME LIKE HAHN HE WAS A JERK IN THE SHOW BUT THEY MADE HIM A GENUINELY GOOD CHARACTER. Yes to brown men not being portrayed as jerks but also in the original it was a nice contrast to how far Sokka had come because Hahn reflected who he used to be. But live action Hahn </3

I like that they showed the deaths and blood. I wanted a live action that was both lighthearted but more realistic when it came to the injuries and death, and that'd kind of what I got

Other thoughts + overall

You can tell they put so much heart into this show, watching the bts, the bending boot camp with the correct martial arts, the easter eggs, the nods to the comics, the beautiful adaptations of Cabbage Merchant and Secret Tunnel nomads, there's so much passion behind the show it's a shame it suffered in its writing

which is why if they read reviews and criticism from the bigger name fans (TheAvatarist, HelloFutureMe, etc.) it would really help them improve for future seasons! The cast is stunning already and they have great chemistry (hopefully gets improved too!)

The live action is just a different angle to the show. And I'm saying this as an Avatar fan–the original wasn't perfect, either. I had some problems w it but the overall show was genuinely so good and heartfelt, those problems weren't glaring enough to put me off (unlike The Dragon Prince, sorry). The live action definitely wasn't perfect, but it tried to give us a new look into Avatar. Again, no adaptation will ever be a 1:1 remake and none should be. Where's the fun in that? But while the show is so full of heart and with actual fans working behind the scenes, I doubt if they listen to any criticism that they can't pull this off better next season.

#atla #avatar the last airbender netflix #avatar netflix #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender #netflix atla #avatar live action #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #iroh #azula

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themousefromfantasyland · 3 months

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Was Star really supposed to be Asha's love interest in the beginning of the development of Disney's Wish?

I keep seeing this being brought up everywhere, appearing even on Trivia TikTok videos about the movie, but as far as I know this is coming from a deeply misunderstanding of the development process.

The main idea is that Star-boy was supposed to be Asha's love interest and that At All Costs was supposed to be their love song.

Seeing the concept arts of Star-boy I can see where most people are coming from. I'm also think that Asha and him are definitely shippable.

However, in the Art of Wish, Star-boy was just the third stage of the character development, and on that stage he was meant to be Asha's deceased grandfather reborn. On the first stage he was supposed to be a shapeshifter and on the final stage a ball of pure energy.

You can say they missed the opportunity of having Star stay as a magical boy like Peter Pan, but it's clear that on that stage his relationship with Asha was probably going to be platonic. No romance here.

Then why do At All Costs sound so much like a love song?

Luckily for us, Jennifer Lee, one of the writers for the film and chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Julia Michaels, the songwriter for the movie, gave an interview to Variety explaining their reasons.

The song “At All Costs,” sung by Asha and King Magnifico, was important to Lee. The song navigates the importance of the wishes to each of them, and the two are emotionally aligned here. Lee pushed for a song expressing this. “You had to understand what it felt like to hold someone’s wish in your hand. How do we viscerally understand that when you’re with them, you feel like you’re holding someone’s raison d’être?” she says. “You can’t do this in any other way but song.

Since there was no love song in the film, Michaels wanted to write a song that as a standalone sounded like a love song that could be played at weddings. Yet in the context of the film, it’s about the heroine and villain. Says Michaels, “How cool would it be if we wrote a song that if you listened to on its own, it sounds like a love song, it could be something you could play at your wedding, or be a lullaby to your kids, just something really beautiful, but when you watch the film, it’s the heroine and it’s the villain.” She continues, “You realize they’re coming about this both from various points, one from a very selfless standpoint and one from a selfish standpoint.”

Basically Jennifer Lee wanted a song about the importance of the the wishes for both Asha and Magnifico, but Julia Michaels wanted to write a love song. As there were no opportunities to write a love song, Michaels wrote At All Costs to sound like one.

But in the demo, they sing "Love you, as one does", instead of "Promise, as one does"?

Probably Julia Michaels wanted to write a love song, but had to tone it down so as to not confuse the audience. Clearly, it didn't work that well.

Disney is lying!

Why would Disney lie about the development of Wish? As far as I know, there's nothing to hide, no scandals, no controversies.

Jenifer Lee is literally the chief creative officer, the highest ranking position of the creative team within the Walt Disney Animation Studios. She along Allison Moore WROTE the screenplay and she is part of the team that came up with that story. Wish was her brainchild. Why would she need to lie?

Maybe higher ups like Bob Iger and Bob Chapek screwed with the project. That's completely possible. Maybe we learn later some big and super shady controversy in the development of the movie.

But, by the time being, with all the evidences available, Wish seems to be the story she and others of the studio wanted to tell, even if general audiences reacted badly.

And so far, no evidence of romance.

Unless someone comes out with some legitimate evidence of the contrary, Star was never supposed to be Asha's love interest, and everything else is consequence of fans being dissatisfied with the end product and wanting for something more Disney-like.

#disney #wish #disney wish #star x asha #disney concept art #wish 2023

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ambrosiagourmet · 2 months

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I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.

#ask #ask meme #even though I thought of a more notable headcanon im leaving the winged lion one in there bc I like it

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killuagirly · 2 months

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Yandere!Noah's Ark Circus[Separate] x Reader

Summary: Noah's Ark Circus members[Separate] seem to have a thing for you, but it only gets worse as you don't notice their obvious attempts to court you. What might they do in return?

Notes: I LITERALLY WAS SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS FOR NO REASON AT ALL. The idea for this was taken from this post, but slightly changed up to fit more general circumstances. [Also because this is Yandere yk] I tried to make sure they all had a lil' sum but writing for this many characters in one post obviously means less content per character. Hopefully I'll get around to the main characters too, like Ciel, Sebastian, and so on.

CW: Yandere, Obsessive tendencies, Possessiveness, Slight mentions of violence[nothing really bad], etc. Read at your own risk!!

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Joker

☆ The 'ringleader' has special tricks up his sleeve just for you. It really couldn't get more obvious to everyone around you when he's leaving gifts outside your tent that range from flowers to clothing and so much more. He'll make sure you acknowledge his tricks and jests during the announcing and performances by making silly inside jokes between the two of you during the show.

☆ Eventually he may start to notice patterns in your behavior when you take his romantic gestures lightly, as nothing more than two close friends. Experimenting to see if his assumptions were correct, he even went as far as kissing you on the cheek before wishing you goodnight after one of his shows.

☆ As he suspected, you only laughed it off and told him goodnight in return. He starts to wonder if the way you keep looking the other way is because you may already have eyes for someone. If even it may seem so, Joker keeps his cool and focuses on improving your view of him. No action will need to be taken if he can simply draw your attention away from other.

☆ If means necessary, he's not hesitant and will slowly push everyone away from you to worm his way into your heart. If it gets to the point where your unmindful habits could be taken as rejection, he may be the type to just outright tell you about his feelings for you. If you still brush it off as some kind of joke, I pray for you because this man will take it to no means end to make you understand his love for you.

Beast

☆ One of the most gorgeous women you'll ever meet, falling for you. Honestly, I'm jealous. Beast is the one who'll communicate her love for you through silent actions, no doubt about it. She'll be your shoulder to cry on, help you with any questions or concerns you have regarding the circus, and you can always come to her with outside troubles as well.

☆ Beast honestly would most likely get upset rather than offended once it hits her that you aren't receiving any of her hints in a romantic context. Maybe she was going about it the wrong way? No, you're just unaware of her feelings towards you. No worries, she can just lay it on a bit thicker so it's within your grasp. After that, how could her love for you still go unnoticed??

☆ If you still manage to get past her flirting however unbothered, she'll probably start looking for outside causes. Could it be that you've got your mind elsewhere? Beast might actually begin to grow self-conscious because of the situation, wondering if you could be judging her for 'flaunting' or 'showing off' her body feature due to her costume. She might even start thinking about changing her main performance outfit.

☆ She may also outright ask you about what you think of her choice of outfit or general body shape saying something along the lines of, "I'm only curious t' know what y' think." In the context that she believes you're thinking of another in a romantic sense however, Beast might get a little pushy with you making sure that you're out of the path of anyone who could be considered a threat.

Dagger

☆ Dagger is literally a whole other story once he's fallen for you. He's very outgoing and honest, not to mention he'll literally serve you compliments on a silver platter for completing even the simplest of tasks. You wore something new today, did your hair differently, got new pair of shoes? He's dying to tell you how great you look, showering you with love and affection.

☆ Is it even possible to stay oblivious to this boy's feelings? He's all over you all the time, craving your praise, attention, literally anything and everything he can get out of you. So how and why on earth would you not acknowledge his efforts to present his feelings for you? It definitely runs through his mind that you could genuinely not feel the same for him.

☆ Honestly, try getting him off of you once he's realized you aren't giving him the attention he wants anymore. Dagger isn't the type to act desperate, but it can surely come off that way at times. He'll even outright bring up this form of, "neglect," you've been giving him. I hope that he doesn't suspect anything between you and another member of the circus, because he'll do anything in his power to keep them away from you.

☆ Dagger often proposes that you both train together, help him out with his act, or even silly little things like eating at the same table together in order to draw you out of any situation involving someone he sees as undeserving of your attention, insisting that you come with. As persistent as he is, he does know his boundaries and won't take it too far, most of the time anyways.

Doll

☆ Doll is an awfully touchy person, and she isn't afraid of showing it. When she's not all dressed up with the main cast, she'll be out and about following you around left and right. This girl could talk for hours without getting bored and proves it when she's with you by literally talking your ear off. Not that you really mind, especially when she's coming up with some new ways to compliment you. Calling you, "alluring," and "incredibly skillful."

☆ She's also very expressive with you, not caring to hide much from you. You'll probably know about how she's a first-tier member long before the sharing secrets phase in a friendship. She also enjoys helping you in every way she can, teaching you tips, tricks, and everything she can about the circus since she's, "more experienced than y'!"

☆ Eventually she comes around to flirting with you shamelessly so, trying to catch your interest. "Lookin' great t'day love," and trust me, it doesn't stop there. Coming around to your disregardful mindset started annoying her though. She'll probably go to Snake or one of the other members in hopes of figuring out what she's doing wrong. "How can't they not see 'm 'n love with 'em?"

☆ If it ever comes to a point where she believes that you may be in love with someone else, she will literally drive herself crazy about it. "Why don't they love m' like that, 'm I doin' somethin' wrong?" She'll pull you along, adamant that you spend more time with her instead of someone who's unimportant. Doll's jealousy is laid out on display for you, and she isn't shy about it either.

Wendy

☆ Spending time with you has become the highlight of her days, and she could go on and on about whatever is on her mind just relaxing and being with you. Wendy fawns over things like your choice in style, your makeup on that given day, honestly anything and everything that is noticeable about you. She's such a sweetheart, caring for you and making sure you've got everything you could ever need.

☆ Wendy is the yandere who might not even realize that her feelings towards you are considered romantic at first, taking her heart's increased pace as simply enjoying time spent with you as her friend. Once she does come to this realization, she's lovestruck and infatuated with you like no other. Honestly her change in behavior would probably be considered a bit concerning by the other members.

☆ If she actually starts flirting or making moves on you and you manage to overlook her signals, she'll automatically go into overthinking mode. It would go something along the lines of, "What 'f they don't find me attractive? D' they think 'f someone else 'ere 's prettier than me??" Peter would probably be the one to notice and calm her down.

☆ In the ensuing days, she'd probably get after anyone who got a little too close to you for her liking. Her main focus would be regaining your full attention, which much to her appeal, would probably be easy given her outgoing nature as your close friend. You can take my word for it when I say this girl isn't letting you go so easily, practically dragging you along with her just for some attention.

Peter

☆ Peter is a little ignorant when it comes to showing his love for you Trying to court you for him is like trying to survive falling into a volcano, it's seemingly impossible. Don't underestimate him though, he does try his hardest for you. If you ever need help with your act, he's there for you. Couldn't grab a bite to eat from the mess tent in time? He'll share with you, just keep your mouth shut about it or he might get embarrassed.

☆ For a while, Peter might be in denial about this little crush of his. After that stage passes however, he goes right into, 'If anyone at all ever hurt them I would take them out with my own two hands.' Not to mention he just might follow you around like a lost puppy, seeking out your attention. Though he'll never say it aloud, he does enjoy your when your attention is completely focused on him and him alone.

☆ Once he realizes that you aren't understanding his hints, - bypassing his love for you - he just gets straight up pissed. What is he doing wrong? Is it because of his condition that you might find him unattractive compared to other circus members?? Bless your soul, if you thought he was clingy before he's not letting go of you now, and anyone who tries to start up a conversation with you is rudely interrupted by a short blonde who isn't having it.

☆ Peter will go off at anyone who tries to speak with you even if it's simply an everyday conversation, no romantic ideals involved. He won't make it seem like the reasoning behind the way he's treating the lower-tier members is his jealousy and possessiveness over you, but some like Wendy might notice him having more sudden outbursts. He'll go as far as physically hurting someone over a harmless compliment about you. In his eyes, he should be the only one telling you such things.

Jumbo

☆ Jumbo's ways of attempting to court you seem the usual, showing off his strengths and starting small talk with you. He enjoys the simple things, like complimenting your skills whenever you do well during practice, or listening to how your day went. Whether you're feeling down in the dumps, or having a wonderful day, he's always there to listen and chat with you.

☆ The silence or calming atmosphere will put him at ease while he simply basks in your presence, even being near or just seeing you after a long day at the circus is enough to put a smile of his face. He cares a lot for you and your well-being, and simply can't imagine a world without you anymore. He may become aware of his feeling much later than he should, and once he does he begins noticing the other things too.

☆ Like how you simply turn your back when he's performing, of course you watch every now and then but you only pay attention to him as much as a good friend should. Jumbo probably starts realizing that you may not feel the same way for him as he does for you, which he simply takes notice of to try harder. Playing the harmonica for you, complimenting your tastes as often as he can, and so on.

☆ Eventually he understands that his efforts are going completely unnoticed in any kind of romantic sense. Could it be someone else has you wrapped around their finger or are you simply oblivious to his methods of courting you? Jumbo definitely seems like a gentle giant, so he probably won't hurt anyone even if they are testing their limits with you. Just a menacing glare from him and they'll know to back off, and he'll only even go that far if they're getting awfully touchy.

Snake

☆ Snake trying to court you is.. practically bound to go south. Well, from his view anyways. He just wants your love and attention, but he's much more closed off than most of the other members which makes it harder to get his feelings through to you. He may absent mindedly gravitate closer to you in public settings, but he still doesn't say very much to you in his own voice.

☆ He prefers to let his snakes talk for him, not often speaking to anyone himself. However, for you, he'll start slowly trying to start small conversations even if they only last moments. Sometimes he even watches you from afar while you're busy training with your act. When you notice him, maybe even flash him that pretty smile of yours, his cheeks will get all flushed and he'll scurry away.

☆ Snake is rather insecure about himself, so he automatically assumes the way you brush off his subtle attempts of flirting with you is because you couldn't be interested in him with his out of the ordinary looks. In addition to that, he's probably not all that offended or upset if you tend to shrug him off just taking it as if he's not good enough.

☆ Although, the other members[especially Doll] may end up offended on his behalf when noticing he the efforts he's putting in for you. He's trying his hardest, isn't he? Snake may be hesitant to step in if the cause of your disinterest in him is the fault of another who's caught your eye. Given his timid nature, I highly doubt he'd go to the extent of acting upon your disinterest in any way besides simply trying even harder for you.

═══════════ ☾ ═══════════

Masterlist

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animehouse-moe · 3 months

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Oushi and Ableism In A Sign of Affection

I want to get better at sharing more granular opinions on matters, so here's one of a few posts that's a sort of catchup from a busy weekend.

I totally get why everyone is talking nonstop about Oushi's ableism within the series- it's entirely justified and a point that's meant to be driven home. But I think a lot of people miss the remaining entirety of his character because of that.

Villains always get dismissed very quickly for their behavior, and I understand, but it means a lot of people fail to understand the purpose behind it. That's another conversation though I'm here to talk about Oushi.

Anyways, Oushi = Ableism is the thing I always see, and it's not wrong but it's abstracting a lot of the point of his character.

To him, Yuki is a delicate flower that needs protecting, and a girl that should be given everything on a silver platter.

The easiest example is that he exclusively talks to her via sign language. And I'd certainly forgive a lot of people for not quite understanding why that's ableist, so let me explain quickly with a very shallow and borderline incorrect answer.

You're in a foreign country, but you've studied their language so that you can converse with them in it, and you're pretty good with it. You try to speak with someone and they instead choose to respond in your language. Doesn't feel great, does it?

That's the point of ableism like this, it neglects the efforts of the individual to decide for them that another person should interact with them in a way that's "easiest" for them. They decide what is right and what is easy for another, and by doing so entirely discount the person that they're attempting to cater to.

But that's that, let me explain the depths beneath Oushi's ableism.

He learnt sign language specifically for Yuki, and chooses to converse entirely within sign language. What he thinks is that he's doing Yuki a favor and doing what's easiest for her. I mean, he spent all that time and effort on learning sign language just so that he could more easily interact with her.

But that point goes past Yuki because of how selfish it is. And childish, even.

Oushi's character is one that hasn't really matured past the idea of a young and insecure Yuki that he would have framed her as when they were younger. He sees her as fragile and something that should be protected, something that others would take advantage of. He's a person that can only see things through his own eyes.

And that inability to mature and view things from somewhere else is what's created this ableism. He loves Yuki, but he can't tell her and he thinks that his feelings will get across with his childish behavior. He can't say those words so he attempts to hold her within his world and keep her from slipping through his grasp.

Oushi is obviously very ableist, but the point is that his intentions are not to be. The point of his character is to illustrate the many ways that ableism arise in day to day life in forms and shapes that are not explicitly malicious. His whole character is a cautionary tale about how you interact with people, about how you should be meeting them where they set things rather than you deciding for yourself.

So yeah, A Sign of Affection remains an incredibly great story with very deep and important characters that I've been loving. They provide so much context and information to the reader/viewer that's deeply important in so many different conversations.

#a sign of affection #yubisaki to renren #ゆびさきと恋々 #yubiren #yuki itose #nagi itsuomi #anime and manga #anime #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review

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chuplayswithfire · 5 months

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re the ask about stede not doing enough to make up for ditching ed - did it not balace out that ed tortured his crew for weeks and tried to kill lucius? idk why everybody is woobifying ed as if being sad or having a hard life is a justification for any of the shit he did like he has autonomy and chooses to behave the way he does when stede leaves. same goes for blaming all of eds actions on izzy as if izzy forced him to do anything? i think its weird and doesn’t do justice to his intentionally morally gray dimensional flawed character

okay so anon you are bringing up multiple things and conflating them, i think so let's take this one bit at a time

re the ask about stede not doing enough to make up for ditching ed - did it not balace out that ed tortured his crew for weeks and tried to kill lucius?

so first, let's be clear: ed's actions towards other people do NOT balance out stede's actions towards ed. that's uhhhh not how it works. when it comes to if stede did enough to make up for ghosting ed, that is a situation resolved only within ed and stede's personal relationship. stede leaving doesn't justify ed being callous and later cruel to the crew, but likewise, ed being callous and later cruel to the crew doesn't mean stede didn't owe something to ed if he wanted their relationship to work.

now let me further say that...i don't think that ed tortured (members of) stede's crew for weeks. in fact, i don't think he's physically harmed any of the crew aside from izzy, and I would argue that his dynamic with izzy is it's own special beef. if anything, i would say that between season 1 episode 10 and season 2 episode 1, ed's been a classic overachieving boss pushing his staff to the breaking point by having them work long shifts with no breaks and low pay.

this is not good, by the way, i am not saying he is being a good boss; kraken ed is fully that shithead boss who schedules 13 hour days and thinks a pizza party or donuts in the lounge make up for it. izzy tells him morale is low and he asks if they got cake, and then if they want drugs. the crew does not describe being worn down from specific fear of ed - they are worn down by day after day after day of endless raids without breaks; all the worst parts of piracy (the raids, the violence, the death) with none of the benefits (the break time between targets, the shore leave, getting paid).

again i say this is not good because it's not, but also, i think the fandom has marinated in this idea that because ed took izzy's toe he'd be doing all kinds of violence to the rest of the crew, and s2e1 doesn't really bare that out. they're shocked and horrified that he actually shoots izzy, and none of them are missing bits - in fact, the behavior is apparently so unique to izzy that they think izzy and ed have a toxic relationship. if it was any of them getting that, it wouldn't be an intervention getting plotted.

(he did for sure try to kill lucius though, which is why i'm glad lucius got to dump him overboard lol. lucky lucius. izzy tried to kill stede twice and stede didn't even get to stab him once.)

idk why everybody is woobifying ed as if being sad or having a hard life is a justification for any of the shit he did like he has autonomy and chooses to behave the way he does when stede leaves.

now half the fandom is woobifying ed because we love him and like him and also because the other half of the fandom is wildly racist about him so.

but, also, it's important context that the showrunner describes ed's actions as "a bit much" and "not entirely inappropriate". in the context of their environment, most of what ed did is not that shocking or stunning; he has hurt people, but even the people he hurt move on from it relatively soon, and we can see from spanish jackie (who doesn't give her employees enough money to pursue their own ambitions/perfectly fine with killing a husband to remove an obstacle) and ned low (literally all of that in episode 6) and izzy (in the like ten minutes he was captain and forced people to season his food and threatening folks with going hungry for laughing at him) that pirate captains are, generally, pretty shit, actually.

roach and archie at various points express sentiments that show this is all pretty normal for pirates; it's not that ed wasn't a dick, it's that he wasn't uniquely evil or fucked up. it's also that his behavior is sympathetic to many people because the show makes it abundantly clear that he's incredibly depressed and suicidal, and while it's definitely NOT okay to hurt people because you're in a bad way, the show is definitely more geared towards "even when you do all that fucked up shit, you still can be deserving of love and compassion if you reach for it" rather than "if you do fucked up shit you instantly are on the death list".

same goes for blaming all of eds actions on izzy as if izzy forced him to do anything? i think its weird and doesn’t do justice to his intentionally morally gray dimensional flawed character

izzy's not responsible for ed's actions in the sense that he put a gun to ed's head during every move, but he plays a critical role in making all that shit happen. it's like how stede wouldn't have ghosted ed if chauncey hadn't of dragged him out of bed - the festering self hatred that chauncey tapped into was there in stede, but he wouldn't have given in without a jolt from his past. the festering self hatred in ed wouldn't have broiled over into the kraken without izzy, but that was all still in ed.

izzy is pivotal in all that shit happening. if izzy hadn't of come in and jabbed ed in every sore spot he had and been a huge homophobia ridden pest that *also* threatened ed if he continued behaving in a way izzy didn't like, ed wouldn't have gone all kraken.

however, ed still DID go all kraken, so like, yeah, he did that shit. izzy is the explanation for why he did, but it's ed who did it so he has to make amends.

but also like ed is only as morally gray as literally everyone else. frenchie and roach are both in full support of torture. jim fully tried to kill a guy for throwing a glass at archie. all of them are professional murderers who make their living being the absolute living nightmares of people who are just living their lives doing their thing.

ed isn't any more morally gray than anyone else, but it's very weird how people try to make it out like ED is the intentionally morally gray character when it's just that this is a show about professional violent criminals, so the show doesn't really moralize about acts of violence.

now taking it back to the top though:

nothing ed did to the crew would change stede's need to re-earn ed's trust for ghosting him without a word and not being honest about his feelings and doubts. if ed wanted stede to atone for that, that would be ed's right as a person in the relationship - just like it would be the right of frenchie, archie, jim, or fang to want to ed to do something more before they offered their forgiveness. the fucked up shit you do to other people does not retroactively justify the fucked up shit someone else did to you. stede doesn't get a get out of the doghouse free card for ghosting ed just because ed was a dick to other people; he gets a get out of the doghouse free card because ed decides to forgive him and try again.

#ofmd #fandom fuckery #izzy hands #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 spoilers

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olderthannetfic · 4 months

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Idk if this is a trope, or a genre-thing, or a real life thing, but I've been seeing more and more of my internet acquaintance circle say that a character being friends with an ex is a big turn-off to them in media they consume. It's really weird to me because I don't even know it's apparently such a big deal in media to be mentioned, but also, what's bad about staying friends with an ex to begin with? If we split amicably I'd rather stay in good contact, than completely cut someone off. Especially if that person was a good friend to begin with. I don't think I've seen that much media revolving around this at all tbh, and it's weird how they started mentioning it recently. Ok Christmas is the time of love and friendship, but stills feels kinda random. Is it like a side effect of current dating culture, or is that an old thing? I notice it more with internet acquaintances than my IRL friends as well. I don't think the idea of writing about two people staying friends after a break-up turns into a cheap porn plot of them just fucking behind any new girl/boyfriends. If that happens, then that is a cheap porn plot. I just wanna know what the fuck they're media they're looking at.

Well... to be honest, a lot of people aren't friends before they date someone and do treat romantic prospects and friends differently.

I think a lot of media also does this. Not only does your standard bad tv writing use the ex for drama in most cases, but the writing of the actual friendship part is often unconvincing.

I know a lot of people, usually guys, who met some girl on a dating app or asked her out in a bar because she was pretty who pull the "We should stay friends" thing, and it's laughable. They weren't friends, and the way that woman socializes outside of her boyfriend isn't compatible with how he socializes.

It's much less weird if it's somebody from your friend circle whom you knew for a long time first.

For me personally, in the context of fiction, the biggest problem is that a sufficiently interesting friendship will make me ship those characters and not the current ship that the media is pushing. Or, on rare occasions, I won't even ship them, but I just want to hear about their friendship and not the romance.

IRL, there are lots of reasons people just don't work out, but in fiction, I'm constantly going "Okay, but they could get back together though!" Unlike with real people, there's no reason some subtle shade of their personality couldn't be a little different or they couldn't change their mind about lifestyle things in a way that would make the couple great together this time around.

It would probably annoy me less in extremely realistic dramas about daily life, but I dislike those. Most things I actually consume just either make me think "Why are we wasting time on the current ship?" or "OT3! OT3!"

Part of making good fiction is paring away the less essential stuff to let the main points shine. A too-good friendship does steal airtime from a romance in a lot of cases.

OTOH, I do know a bunch of neurotic people who just hate it when any ex is within a thousand miles because they've got cheating on the brain.

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aihoshiino · 1 month

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I honestly liked ruby a lot before. How she was so full of hope and all, then the character development she got after finding gorou's body. Even the recent part where she says she won't be like Ai and won't give up on her friends. But I think all the incest and related part ruins her character and reduces her to a simp. At least show some depth in it tho😭 like before whenever ruby talked about gorou that felt impactful. Man i miss the old ruby.

YEAH!!! This is pretty much exactly my issue as well. I know something a lot of folks have criticized about the story pre-Mainstay is that Ruby lacks development but TBH, I never really felt like Old!Ruby was a character who needed a more active arc in the way characters like Aqua and Kana did. She definitely had some Big Overhanging Issues dangling above her head that she was going to have to address eventually but on a moment to moment basis, Ruby was doing really well. She functioned best as a sort of guiding star for the characters around her, pulling them along through the force of her own positive energy and personality.

A big part of this is simply that a lot of the things that made Sarina's life miserable are not actually issues for Ruby anymore. She's healthy, she's surrounded by family and friends who love and support her, she's getting to pursue her dream and even has a pretty healthy relationship with her memories of and grief for Ai. That's not to say her history as Sarina has no effect on her, of course: her bull-headed stubbornness and willingness to charge on into things no questions asked comes specifically and explicitly from the ways she was disempowered and lacking agency in her past life and moments like her getting upset about Aqua no longer eating dinner with them on Sundays during the LoveNow filming pretty clearly stem from her issues with abandonment and lacking familial care. But her environment and the support system she has as Ruby very clearly did a lot to help her organically heal and start moving on.

New!Ruby really feels like a retcon in that regard, like Akasaka suddenly scrabbled to go "oh actually Ruby was ALWAYS secretly fucked up!!!!" for the sake of drama and ramped everything about her up to an 11 to try and convey this but the end result ultimately just feels inconsistent. I know I link this post basically every time I talk about Ruby these days, but @all-of-her-light's Ruby and the Unplayed Role essay really is the best at breaking down all these differences and inconsistencies and why it is they feel so jarring. But one of the things that stands out to me is the ramping up of the intensity of her feelings for Gorou.

Some of this makes perfect sense within the context of the narrative; finding his DESSICATED FUCKING SKELETON jesus CHRIST and realising he'd been murdered by the very same person who killed her beloved mother absolutely makes sense as the impetus for her feelings to go into overdrive. But as of the Mainstay arc onwards, we have continually gotten backfill that implies she has always been operating on this level of intensity, elevating Gorou to a position of importance in her life that matches or even exceeds Ai to a degree that feels retconny.

Actually, now that I've articulated that, I think that key difference is the core of what makes Old and New Ruby feel so split to me. Old Ruby absolutely still adored and deeply valued Gorou and wanted to be reunited with him, but she was nowhere near as emotionally dependant on the idea of him as New Ruby seems to be. Old Ruby was characterized much more strongly in relation to Ai, both in the sense of love for her as her mother and her legacy as an idol and while this is still true to a degree for New Ruby, the manga frames Gorou as being just as if not more important than Ai as a factor in Ruby's motivations for becoming an idol, when it really hadn't been framed that way prior to a certain point in the manga.

Ultimately, it's just kind of frustrating. Like you, I really loved Old Ruby and I think New Ruby is just kind of a flanderized and flattened version of her - though the story pays some lip service to her uglier and more complicated emotions, the story's failure to genuinely and seriously interrogate them and its consistency in reducing her to a gag character just makes her feel so much less lively and interesting that Old Ruby, even if Old Ruby was (at least on paper) a much more simple character. It really feels like the last time the story genuinely took Ruby seriously was prior to 123 when we were getting teased with the idea of her meeting Marina again but that thread has since been completely dropped and I'll be shocked if it gets so much as mentioned again.

#oshi no ko #oshi no posting #onk asks #onk spoilers #ruby hoshino

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elekinetic · 9 months

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hi! i was just wondering what your opinions are on hopper, like, as a character? i've just seen so much slander for him and i was wondering about your own thoughts on it since you seem to have a good grasp of the show's characters. also, no pressure to answer if you don't want to, i'm just genuinely curious :)

hi!! i am so honored you asked!

so. hopper’s a shithead. i love him.

no but actually so, i think hopper is one of the most interesting characters in the show, and i think a lot of the hopper slander (and character slander in general) comes from having fundamentally different approaches to the show. and I don’t think there’s any one correct way to watch the show, but there’s a difference between looking at characters as people who are accountable for their actions and characters as vehicles for communicating themes and ideas.

(I wanna start with a disclaimer that I’m not really gonna touch how he exists as copaganda, especially as a character, who really does not subvert the hero cop trope. That’s a separate post and a whole other conversation — one that’s important when contextualizing our discussion of hopper, but for now I’m just gonna focus on his characterization and behavior within the context of the show. alright, moving on.)

hopper is not always the nicest person and doesn’t always make the right call, but he is so caring and protective of the people he loves, and he believes in goodness in the world. i think it’s really interesting to see that over the course of the show, part of his journey is relearning that there are good things, and that even though it’s painful, those things are still worth protecting. (it’s less so that he’s learning that those things are worth protecting and it’s more so that he’s learning to be okay with the pain of it.)

after losing sarah, hopper shuts everything down and everything out. and like, obviously. of course he would. there’s this really interesting part of his spinoff novel that talks about how when he was in the war, he was stationed in an area that exposed him to chemicals that could lead to birth defects or infertility in the future. and then he comes home and has sarah anyway, and then she dies of cancer. obviously he feels really guilty about that. I think it’s really really important to remember that that is a key part of his experience when it comes to analyzing hopper and considering his behavior.

i was re-watching the first couple episodes of season two with abby strangeswift and bats demobatman, specifically el’s conversation with him about wanting to go out for halloween. and i was really frustrated, right, because here’s this girl that’s been trapped in a lab her entire life and just wants to feel normal, and there’s really no end in sight to this new kind of confinement. but then abby and bats were talking about how there’s really no other choice and especially after losing sarah, he is not willing to put el at risk.

I think this haunts him through the next couple of seasons. he becomes so blinded by his need to protect and keep el safe that he loses nuance. especially with a kid as extraordinary and as hunted as el, hopper is so on guard all the time. and that’s frustrating! because then we see him as the reason el loses out on experiences that she should get to have. she should get to be a normal kid and do normal things like go to the mall and kiss her boyfriend etc. etc. but hopper is so keenly aware of the fact that el is not a normal kid and the world is not safe for her. he’s not willing to be the reason another daughter dies.

like i said, i think hopper makes bad decisions and doesn’t always consider the agency of the people he loves, but i think the reason that we see so many parallels between him and mike is because they are both protectors. fundamentally, i think their arcs are the same. it’s them learning they don’t always have to be the protector, that they can trust the people they love to love them back without being a defensive force. learning there’s a way to be protective without being overbearing or imposing on agency.

and listen, hopper fucks up a lot. I don’t think the way he speaks to Joyce season three is OK and I think he owes her an apology. and I think he and eI will need to have a real conversation about why he acts the way he does and why he put the rules he does in place. (I don’t think people understand just how much danger el is in even when the upside down shit isn’t happening.)

hopper makes a lot of sense to me and his inner conflict is really, really interesting. if you’re looking at him as a person, then, yeah, it gets a lot harder to excuse his actions because they do cause harm, tangible harm. but i read an article recently that i think articulated really well why our progress as a society about discussing mental health hasn’t really solve the problems we need it to solve; that, despite introducing these therapeutic terms and emphasizing boundary setting, we still center ourselves in our experience of the world. (when you fuck up, youre learning—when your friend fucks up, they’re a narcissist, kind of thing.)

so let’s let both things be true. that hopper is not always making the best decisions and doesn’t always say or do the right thing, that he should apologize for that (which he has on occasion). but he’s also learning and he should be given the space and grace for that. and yes, he’s 40. but people don’t stop learning and growing when they’re 40. you don’t hit 25 and suddenly you’re a perfect person. and this is a man who has been through a war, lost his four-year-old daughter to cancer he is sure he caused, struggled with addiction and depression, and at this point has been literally tortured by russians for months.

but then again, hopper isn’t person. he’s a character. hopper does not exist to be accountable to his actions. he exists to convey a story, to communicate ideas. stories like this aren’t interesting without complicated people. he adds complexity to the plot and the relationships between characters. he informs el’s relationship with society and adults in her life. he gives joyce the space to be taken care of, to not be the mom, the hustler, the protector of her own family all day everyday. he fills out hawkins as a three-dimensional place, where not everyone is a wheeler-esque suburban wet dream. he shows that there is a path out of grief and depression. he shows that it’s important to lean on people and that isolation will just lead to further suffering. It shows that protecting other people is important, but so is moderation and communication. how do we learn those lessons without a character making mistakes that hopper does?

anyway, those are my brief scattered thoughts on hopper. i think he deserves more grace than he’s given by people in fan spaces, but i understand peoples hesitation to treat him as a beloved character the way they would treat el or lucas or will. he’s a very real character and doesn’t really fit the schema of a fave, i think. and i think the way people communicate their appreciation for his character doesn’t fit easily into the way people show their appreciation for other characters in fans spaces.

I hope this makes sense. 👍

#jim hopper #thanks for asking me!!

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booktomoviebrawl · 7 months

Text

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Tales From Earthsea:

I don't think it could have been better, but it was just so off from from the books it was mainly drawing its inspiration from (I mean, I had no interest in seeing that weird weaver guy decide to off himself in the boat, but still).

Studio Ghibli is the perfect studio to capture the Le Guin vibe and yet Goro torched it so hard for no reason

To give credit where it is due, the film has some good settings and animation. Unfortunately, its beauty is only on the surface, and it is the worst Studio Ghibli movie I’ve seen. (I’ve seen almost all of them but Earwig and the Witch.) The plot is a collage of random bits of context from the first four books of the series, as well as its own stuff. It really is not the same story at all. I may have enjoyed it more if I had seen it as a child before reading the books, but not covering all the events exactly isn’t the only issue, it’s just worse. It takes the moral complexity and sensibility of the original and turns it into a typical fantasy war between good and evil (the Japanese title even translates to Ged’s War Chronicles) with emphasis on physical violence, in which evil is personified as a goth queer-coded villain whose death resolves everything. It completely misses the point of the books, which gives no such simple answers and is more focused on the darkness within everyone than an external battle. Where is the nuance? It also whitewashes everyone: most of the characters in the book are dark-skinned, but in the movie…

I was also bitter that they did my favourite character, Tehanu/Therru, dirty. She’s supposed to be horribly scarred and disfigured on half her body and reviled by people as a monster but in the movie she’s just a pretty girl with a red mark on her face. In the books, she doesn’t appear until the fourth book, Tehanu, which takes place after Lebannen is grown up and ruling a kindgom, and in which she is a mostly-nonverbal child. But here she’s aged up and thrown into the earlier story to give the protagonist a love interest and the film has him stay with them so it can focus on their romance. Even though a plot-relevant part of his character as well is his lack of interest in women and not settling into a relationship despite the people’s wishes.

Basically, they whitewashed, heteronormatized, macho-ified, and de-nuanced the narrative, and also took out the feminism.

On top of this, trying to cram the whole series into one movie is just not a good idea, and it would have been better to just decide on one book to adapt and do more justice. And yet they still added in so much that didn’t happen. When you have that much material to cover, you don’t have time or budget to be putting other things in, mate. Turning four books into one results both in a mess. Abridgment is one thing; taking particular aspects of different parts of the timeline and combining them in different ways is another. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s in an unfortunate middle area where it doesn’t follow the source material but also doesn’t give enough context that people unfamiliar with the source understand. For Earthsea fans, it’s infuriating; for others, it’s confusing. Also, why did they name it after the fifth book, which is a short story collection that it doesn’t reference whatsoever?

The failure of the movie is upsetting because the books are sooo good. Yet, it was the highest-grossing Japanese movie of the year, and did win a couple awards… The Bunshun Kiichigo awards for “Worst Director” and “Worst Movie”.

The Golden Compass:

The Golden Compass isn't even the title of the book! It's called Northern Lights! And now there are editions of the book with the wrong title on them. Enfuriating. Anyways, the movie tries to follow the books story and fails completely because they don't kill off a character because they wanted a happy ending when that character being dead is crucial to the story in the third book. Also they made Mrs. Coulter blonde. Unforgivable.

They remove the ending of the book so it has a happy ending and I guess leave it for a better beginning to the second movie, only of course they never made a second movie cause the first one bombed. They also rearranged the order of the events, and, more importantly, made it lose its bite by removing darker elements and removing explicit critique of the catholic church by making the antagonistic magisterium way more generic

Terrible movie. The acting is awful, especially Mrs. Coulter, whose character in the books is chilling because of her smooth, sweet nature that belies a deep sinister calucating mind. Plus they butchered the story and took out any mention of the church as the main villain for fear of offending Christians. This ultimately defeats the purpose of the book. I hate this movie so much it's unreal

#tournament poll #the golden compass #his dark materials #tales from earthsea #earthsea #a wizard of earthsea #northern lights

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hamliet · 6 months

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Wanted to ask what you think about this reading

( >︹<)

No but actually. It's anti intellectual, cynical, bad faith, not authorially intended, and not textually supported take. The sheer degree of misreading makes this almost laughable.

Like if you don't think that romantic love--which is not incongruent with spiritual love--is the entire POINT of the ending, of what offers Raskolnikov and Sonia practical futures, then they didn't read the book. They read their own presumptions into the text.

I'll quote from @linkspooky here. Link's talking about No Longer Human, which is in many ways a response to C&P, as well as how NLH's main character is perhaps more similar to the unnamed narrator of Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground. The point I think Link expresses really well is this:

For Yozo, each woman he meets is his Sonya, they are meant to redeem him and bring him peace, and when they don’t he leaves. Yozo someone missing the point that, Raskolnikov loved Sonya because he sympathized with her circumstances and suffering while Yozo really only ever cares about his own suffering...

The protagonist encounters a young prostitute name Liza, he tries to save her at first, but then turns around and starts to treat her terribly and has a mental breakdown in front of her that ends in this line. She finds him pitiable, and comforts him in that moment.

However, after this moment of comfort he then he goes back to treating her terribly once more. He yells at her, and she grows tired of him. He pays her and she leaves and that’s the end of that relationship.

See it’s a moment that’s simultaneously, a moment of human connection, but also it shows how the protagonist regards other people and why he can’t connect to them. If you only use other people to comfort your loneliness, you’re going to end up alone either way. The same way the Narrator uses Liza, Yozo chronically uses women.

The person whose take you linked (no idea who they are) is basically doing the same thing as Yozo and as the unnamed Narrator--they're viewing Sonya as existing for Raskolnikov, but they don't cite any actual evidence for this, nor can they without removing context. Now, you can criticize Dostoyevsky's execution of the idea, but there is a vast, vast, vast difference between how Dostoyevsky portrays the Narrator and Liza and how he portrays Raskolnikov and Sonya. This difference shows that Dostoyevsky is not unaware of the idea of seeing a woman as an idea or an idol rather than as a human being.

Sonya is absolutely a person, and that's why she's able to impact Raskolnikov so much, and why he's able to empathize with her. It's her humanity. Someone who is denied humanity by so many and even by his own self meets someone whom others deny humanity to and can only affirm her humanity because of what he's heard from those who love her--long before Sonya and Raskolnikov ever have any sort of interaction. He affirms her humanity before he even meets her, and that's the point.

Yes, within the story she's a symbol for the suffering of humanity and for the suffering of poor women just as Raskolnikov is a symbol for the suffering of the impoverished students desperately seeking some kind of meaning in a life that looks hopeless. But to reduce the characters to their symbols and to argue that the text supports this is directly against the themes, because Raskolnikov seeing people as just symbols is exactly what fueled his toxic philosophy. It's coming to love someone as a human being that sets him free from that.

#ask hamliet #crime and punishment #fyodor dostoevsky #rodion romanovich raskolnikov #sonya marmeladova #notes from underground

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